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Smuggler's Folly (Part 2)
The streaking stars rushing by the cockpit during light-speed travel are often thought of by the uninitiated as beautiful, and indeed there is an entrancing quality to them that even veteran spacers will admit to. But what they know is that every one of those incandescent beams of light is a burning fusion reaction tens to thousands of times the size of an entire world and that at these speeds it isn't reactions but precise calculations made hours or even days ago that control one's fate. Within the safety of major hyperspace lanes reaching one's destination is, usually, a forgone conclusion. But smugglers routinely journey off the beaten track, the cavalier attitudes for which they're infamous the product of the knowledge that on their next trip might be their last. The Hirakiis' collision sensor flashes red, a loud whooping warning echoing around the cockpit as the navicomputer's safety disengages lightspeed fractions of a second before the freighter runs into a cloud of starship debris - the particle shields don't even have time to come online as the vessel is rocked by pounding blows, fire-control panels bursting with sparks, and halon fire-suppressors dousing them. The Hirakiis emerges with structural integrity intact, but the weapons systems are off-line and will require significant repairs. Jaspar finds himself jolted forth in his seat, saved from smacking face-first into his console only by the fact that his safety harness is a damned good one. He utters a few oaths and begins working the controls, running scans to get his bearings, and to assess the damage to his ship. He silences the alarms, and continues to attempt to get things under control. "...This is what I get for trying to be proactive. Bah!" Beyond the clustered asteroids drifting in the solar wind hangs the pale blue-and green orb of the Sarian homeworld, Caspar. The Hiirakis' active sensors spring to life, a signal projected outward in a broad sweep - and the source of the unexpected debris field is quickly discovered: several hundred kilometers away hangs the burned out shell of an old Corellian freighter, what once might have been a YT-1300 series, though the battle damage makes it hard to tell. Apparently, Jaspar is not the only one to have attempted to slip by the blockade by playing chicken with an asteroid belt. "Mm.. Alright, life, warning acknowledged. Still.. can't make an omelette without breaking some eggs." Jaspar begins maneuvering onward toward his goal, trying to move as carefully as possible, so as not to further damage his ship. Lonrina's going to flatten him as is, best not to raise her ire any more. With only passive sensors running and the throttle kept low the Hirakiis begins to cautiously manuever its way through the asteroid field, edging closer toward open space and Caspar beyond. As the freighter's view-port begins to clear the sensors detect a vessel - some three hundred meters long and making good speed in its patrol directly in the Hirakiis' intended path. The Hirakiis makes its way toward the Caspian homeworld, slowly and stealthily. Once in position, the Hirakiis begins flooding the area with white noise to cover its approach to the planet. "Let's hope this works... fingers crossed," Jaspar whispers to himself inside the cockpit, praying the sensor noise lasts long enough to cover his landing. One can only hope. The previously empty, calm area of space is almost instantly a hotbed of activity - the Hirakiis' sensors flooding the area around the freighter as it powers its engines and breaks from the asteroid belt for Caspar. Aboard the distant cruiser, the electronic commotion does not go unnoticed. Sensors cease their broad sweeping as the cruiser plots an intercept course with the mass of static, powerful sensors sweeping the field as officers aboard frantically work to filter out the background noise. And there it is, the source. Massive engines roar to life. "Unidentified freighter, this is His Imperial Majesty's Ship Endurance. You are ordered to stand down and prepare for boarding, or we will open fire." the cruiser transmits on a broad frequency. Jaspar rolls his eyes, keeping his comms quiet. Instead, he continues moving his ship toward the planet. He's feeling pretty good, in spite of what just happened. Fingers crossed, he'll make it in one piece... maybe one and nine tenths. Jaspar closes his eyes, and says a little prayer. The cruiser unleashes a hail of fire, green lasers streaking from the bulbous head of the vessel as it advances at high speed - the cannon fire sprinkling wildly around the little freighter as it weaves and jinks. From the belly of the cruiser, two small craft detach - then two more. The ominous round eyes and parallel vanes of TIE fighters dropping away from the craft and with a screeching roar of ion engines, vectoring toward the Hirakiis. Jaspar utters a rather un-gentlemanly oath as the TIE fighters begin pouring out of the larger ship, like drunk guys scattering from a bar after happy hour. He throttles up hard to (hopefully) increase his chances of gaining some distance between himself and the approaching offensive units, moves to angle his shields so his backside doesn't take so much of a pounding, and begins preparing himself for the inevitability of having volleys of ass-whoop shot at his ship. Engines, shields, dodge. The cruiser continues pouring on fire, but at this range it does little more than effect a dramatic light-show around the Hirakiis' hull. TIE fighters streak in, the accelerating freighter maintaining for now its distance their pilots lock targets, laser cannons snapping precise blasts at the freighter's shielded aft. The Hirakiis keeps rolling right along, its shields taking a beating. Jaspar's harness keeps him relatively safe, though he does receive a few bumps and bruises from the impacts. More oaths from the smuggler, and he forges onward "to glory." Right up until a few sneak-thief shots punch holes in his shields and put some nice dings in his paint-job. Lonrina's going to have his ass... and not in the fun way. The lead TIE's cannons breach the shields and a spray of carbonized debris flies off of the Hirakiis, portions of the freighter's maneuvering thrusters left behind, smoldering in space. Another volley strafes the freighter, bright white flashes enveloping the ship as the lasers hammer its deflector shields. Jaspar growls, and tries to keep his speed up, attempting to stay ahead of the TIE, pouring everything he has into his speed, barely noticing the bits of debris falling away from his ship. "Come on. We're almost there. We can do it..." He whispers to his ship, as though talking to an injured friend. He briefly glances down at his sensors, checking on his position, the position of Caspar, and the positions of the hostiles around him, but only for a second. As the Hirakiis forces its engines to their limit, the ship begins to slip away from the pursuing TIE's and the looming Carrack cruiser. Their base ship transmitting a direct communications burst. "Freighter, this is your last warning." the captain orders. "Stand down or you will be destroyed." The TIEs and the cruiser push their own engines harder, matching speed with the accelerating freighter and emphasizing their point with another volley of laser cannon fire. The Hirakiis' engines can take no more, letting loose their pent-up fury. Vapor-trails, glowing bits, the whole deal. Boom! ... Jaspar works furiously, trying something.. anything.. to salvage the situation. Alas, what's done is done, and the realization dawns on him. He's going to need serious help to repair his pride, literally and figuratively. With the Hirakiis disabled, the TIE's scream forward, quickly overtaking the freighter as the Carrack cruiser closes in. The dead vessel aflame in the interior and her pilot urgently fighting burst fires with a halon extinguisher, shakes violently as a tractor-beam engulfs the hull and reels it in. "Freighter...Raven." A voice of authority intones, using the Hirakiis' former name. "You are under arrest. Open your docking bay and prepare to be boarded." 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